A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER? ME? Part Two

Here is part two of my little bus driver story. In total there are nine chapters or vignettes, as I prefer to call them.
The pictures are sunset scenes, captured recently at Lake Minniwasta, so they don't have anything to do with the story. Hope you enjoy my writings and the pictures I'm sharing.

Smiles and Tears

September 1, and the first day of a new school year.The alarm clock rings early to awaken the bus driver. Even the drivers sense a feeling of anticipation and perhaps apprehension. After that first cup of coffee and breakfast, the bus driver makes his or her way out to that big yellow vehicle. The bus needs to be checked out to make sure that everything is working correctly. On a good day all is in perfect condition. No oil leaks under the hood, fluid levels are all up, belts tight, tires round and the lights front and rear all in working order.

  Many times this morning inspection can set the tone for the rest of the day. When something is amiss you know it will mean a call to the office for help as well as calling the parents to let them know that the bus will be late. Timing is of utmost importance to a school bus driver and no one wants to have a late start. When all is well, the always time conscious driver checks the clock carefully and at just the right moment sets the wheels a-rolling.

 Today is a special day for the little ones as this is the first day of Kindergarten. Some parents choose to take their young student to school for the first few times, but some of the braver students can hardly wait for that first bus ride.

  As the bus rolls to a stop at the first pick-up, the driver sees just such a young child, eager to get on the bus. The little girl in her brightly adorned pigtails, colourful backpack and one hand firmly placed in Mother's protective one, waits patiently for the door to open.A quick cheerful good-bye to Mom and she happily boards the bus, but wait, is that a tear in Mother's eye? Yes, the sight of her baby going off to school is almost more than a. Mother can take. A lump rises in the driver’s throat, the parental heart inside of you knows just what this mother is feeling., but we must move on to be in time at the next stop and the next. A few stops down the road is another  mother with several children , one of thermals being a kindergarten student. As this child boards the bus, Mother grins broadly and waves good-bye. Perhaps she is thankful that at last  she will have the house to herself for several hours.  You imagine her going back to a quiet house, sitting down for a leisurely cup of coffee and for just a moment you envy her position. But your job is important and sitting a little straighter in your seat you take pride in your chosen career.

These are just some of the experiences of a professional school bus driver on the daily run from the first pick-up in the morning to the last drop off at school. It is these  experiences that make the job both interesting and rewarding and one reason why a bus driver stays on the job.